The Greatest World War 2 Tanks 

Mike Rothschild
Updated June 26, 2019 97.7k votes 8.8k voters 146.7k views 44 items

List Rules Vote up the best WWII-era tanks.

World War 2 tanks started as lightly armed "tankettes" and infantry support vehicles, but quickly gained in power and speed as the need for bigger and better tanks was revealed. Soon, the modern T-34, Panther, and Sherman were ruling the battlefield with bigger cannons, thicker armorer, and most importantly, mass quantities. By the end of the war, monsters like the Soviet IS-2, German Tiger II, and American Pershing would set the stage for the modern main battle tanks still used to this day.

These iconic vehicles captured the imagination of the public and became symbols of the struggle of the Second World War. The T-34 especially proved to be so powerful and hard to beat that it changed the course of the war on the Eastern Front, helping turn a sure defeat into victory. And self-propelled assault guns and tank destroyers based on the designs of the mainstay tanks of the war played vital roles in supporting infantry and hunting enemy tanks.

Here's your chance to vote for the greatest tanks and similar artillery vehicles that fought in World War 2, or to add your own favorite that didn't make the list.

Tiger Tank
Tiger Tank is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list The Greatest World War 2 Tanks
Photo: Metaweb/GNU Free Documentation License
Feared German heavy tank used in the last year of the war.
Is it effective?
Panther Tank
Panther Tank is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list The Greatest World War 2 Tanks
Photo: Steven Usher/Flickr
German medium tank with excellent firepower, but low mobility.
Is it effective?
T-34 is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list The Greatest World War 2 Tanks
Photo: [hat Suckr verlassen]/Flickr
Hugely successful and important Soviet medium tank. Served in various armies well into the '90s.
Is it effective?
Panzer IV
Panzer IV is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list The Greatest World War 2 Tanks
Photo: Wikimedia Commons/CC-BY
Most produced German medium tank of the war. Mainstay of infantry support.
Is it effective?